


Exfoliation

by chaos_ineffable



Series: Good Omens 30th Anniversary [3]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Caring Aziraphale (Good Omens), Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Crowley (Good Omens), M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Post-Canon, Sort Of, Worried Aziraphale (Good Omens), crowley has snake characteristics, he's in a bad way but not because of an injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:16:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23998864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaos_ineffable/pseuds/chaos_ineffable
Summary: Aziraphale finds Crowley in a bad way on the bookshop floor, surrounded by his own feathers and covered in flakes of shedding skin. A bath is requested and what kind of partner would Aziraphale be if he didn't help his demon through this?Or, the one where they bathe together.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Good Omens 30th Anniversary [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1729684
Comments: 2
Kudos: 135





	Exfoliation

**Author's Note:**

> Could this be edited more? Probably. Is it going to be? Nope! For real though, if anyone sees any mistakes or something that doesn't make sense, please let me know so I can fix it!
> 
> The prompt for this one is 'Unexpected'.

Aziraphale locks the shop door behind himself, humming an ancient tune as he shuffles his latest purchases onto his desk. He’s just returned from a three-day trip to an antique auction near Manchester and he is rather excited to settle in and go through the ancient tomes. 

But first, a cup of tea. He bustles into the kitchen and is engulfed in a wall of black. He yelps and stumbles his way out of the mass of feathers. The kitchen is covered in them, from wall to floor and back again. Just feathers as far as the eye can see. And in the very center of the mess is Crowley.

He looks…off. His skin is dry and flaking with red patches dotting his arms and legs. He’s thin, far thinner than usual. His skin is stretched over his bones and it looks frighteningly close to cracking over the sharp edges. His wings are splayed on the floor behind him, bedraggled and more skin than feathers. His eyes are all yellow, the color faded and dull. He looks so very tired.

He doesn’t seem to be aware of Aziraphale’s presence. He just sits there, staring into space. Every now and then, he’ll reach a hand to one of the red spots decorating his pale skin and scratch hard enough Aziraphale is surprised he doesn’t draw blood.

“Crowley?” Aziraphale asks, “Darling, whatever happened?”

The response is slow but Crowley’s eyes focus on him. His face contorts into something that almost looks like relief. “Angel,” he croaks, throat working over the next words, “Make it stop.”

Aziraphale’s gut drops to the floor. “Make what stop? I need you to tell me what’s wrong.”

Crowley tries to move, to shift himself to his feet, but he is barely able to get to his knees before he tumbles to the floor.

Aziraphale is there in an instant, cradling Crowley’s head and doing his best to keep the panic at bay. “Darling, dearest, what do you need? How can I help you?”

It takes him several minutes, minutes that Aziraphale spends racking his mind for curses or spells that could undo whatever this is, but Crowley manages to cough out, “Water. Lots of water.”

A snap of fingers and the tub upstairs is full of steaming water. For good measure, Aziraphale ensures there is also a pitcher of cool water beside it. He tucks Crowley to his chest and lifts him. The demon weighs almost nothing.

Aziraphale presses a kiss to the top of Crowley’s head with a whispered, “Hold on, my darling. I’ve got you.” Then he rushes to the bathtub, not bothering to remove Crowley’s clothes before placing him in the water.

The demon sighs and goes limp once he is submerged. Aziraphale watches him, fidgeting with anything he can get his hands on. There is a long period of silence, the only sound the gentle lapping of the water against Crowley’s dried skin. 

Then Crowley moves. It’s not much, just a slight wiggle upward until he is half-sitting against the side. His eyes are closed but his face is relaxed and the pain from earlier seems to have disappeared. 

“Crowley?” Aziraphale starts, reaching out to touch but thinking better of it and going back to fiddling with a hand towel. “Is it helping?”

One golden-eye cracks open and Crowley smiles, lazy and carefree. “Yeah, angel, it’s helping.” He sounds better, his voice gravelly instead of croaking. He shifts enough to stick one arm over the side, displaying an abundance of flaking skin. He rubs at it half-heartedly. “Can’t get all this off myself, though. Think you could help?”

There’s a sly glimmer in his eye and Aziraphale almost melts with relief. “You really had me worried, my dear. I thought someone had cursed you.”

Crowley snorts. “Nah. Started shedding unexpectedly. Didn’t have time to turn snake before it really got going and it always does funny things to this form. Apparently triggered a molt this time around. Causes a lot of sweat, plus the shed naturally dehydrates me, so lost more liquid than I could handle, I guess.” He goes still, settles a little deeper in the water, retracts his arm, and closes his eyes. There is a stiffness to his features that Aziraphale knows has nothing to do with his shed gone wrong. “Sorry for worrying you. You can go, if you’d rather. I’ll figure something out for all this.”

“Now, dear, what have we discussed about expecting the worst,” Aziraphale tuts, uncuffing his sleeves and undoing his bowtie. “It is a miserable habit and I will not entertain it any longer. You are in need of my assistance and I am not just going to leave you.”

A blush stretches across Crowley’s cheeks and he avoids looking at Aziraphale’s exposed neck. “Right, yeah. Forgot.” He considers something, eyeing Aziraphale with a the beginnings of a cheeky grin that can only mean trouble. Before Aziraphale can warn him against any wily deeds, he waves his hand and his soggy clothes disappear, leaving him completely naked. He leans forward, draping himself over the side of the tub. “You know, it’d be easier if you were in here with me.”

“Oh, would it now?” Aziraphale plays along, already working on unbuttoning his waistcoat.

“Gives you better access to my legs, among other things.” Crowley winks at him. It would normally be enough to send Aziraphale swooning but the angel is on a mission and will not be distracted by salacious demons.

“I am not fucking you when you can barely hold yourself up, my dear.”

Crowley sags into the water, groaning. “Angel! You’re a cruel lover, did you know that?”

Aziraphale chuckles and finishes undressing, folding his pants and placing them with the rest of his clothing. “Stop being dramatic and scooch up.”

Crowley grumbles but does as he’s told, making enough room for Aziraphale to slip in behind him. He snaps his fingers and miracles a red loofa, already sudsy with a sweet-smelling soap. “Want me to do my front and you can do my back?”

There’s a hint of uncertainty in his tone. Aziraphale brushes his fingers along his spine in a comforting motion, reaching over his shoulder for the loofa. “I’d prefer to do all of you, my dear. Just sit back and relax. Let me take care of you.”

It has never been easy for Crowley to let others care for him. Aziraphale is far too aware of this, so he is not surprised when Crowley doesn’t move for the first few minutes of scrubbing. Then, as Aziraphale wraps around him to scrub at his chest, he begins to relax, easing back until his shoulders are pressed flush against Aziraphale’s chest. The angel hums and pauses his ministrations long enough to squeeze Crowley’s middle, then he goes back to scrubbing. 

Crowley relaxes much faster after that, until he is limp in the angel’s arms, a content smile on his face. 

Aziraphale scrubs away the last of the shedding skin and snaps his fingers, banishing the loofa and clearing the water of any dead skin that slipped through his previous cleaning miracles. The water is still at the perfect bathing temperature, of course, and he relaxes into it, pulling Crowley tight against him.

The demon’s skin is smooth underneath his fingers and he can’t help but touch every part of his love he can reach. He smooths a hand down the demon’s tummy and Crowley squirms away with a laughing shout.

Aziraphale laughs and kisses the back of Crowley’s neck, “Thank you for letting me help you, dear.”

Crowley places his hands over Aziraphale’s, ensuring they don’t wander to any other ticklish places and hums, “Thanks for not, y’know, running the other way in disgust. It’s nice to have someone to help me through that, when it happens.”

“I want to be that person for you, always,” Aziraphale murmurs into silk soft skin. He presses another kiss to Crowley’s neck and tightens his hold. “I love you, Crowley.”

Crowley entwines their fingers and pulls their hands to his mouth, pressing a kiss to Aziraphale’s wrist. “Love you too, angel.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think in the comments! Thanks for reading!


End file.
